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Summary: NORTHEASTERN NATURALIST2003 10(1):1724
EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON DEVELOPMENT
TIME IN EGG MASSES OF THE INTERTIDAL
NUDIBRANCH, DENDRONOTUS FRONDOSUS
(ASCANIUS 1774) (OPISTHOBRANCHIA,
DENDRONOTACEA)
Janet L. Watt 1
and Ronald B. Aiken 1,*
ABSTRACT - Dendronotus frondosus (Ascanius 1774) is a common inhabitant
of the intertidal zone of the lower Bay of Fundy. This nudibranch experiences
great daily fluctuations in physical conditions that affect all aspects of its life
cycle. We examined the effect of temperature (5, 11, and 15 °C) on the develop-
ment time of eggs of an intertidal population of this species. Eggs developed
more slowly at 5 °C than at 11 °C and did not develop past the second polar body
stage at 15 °C. The effect of this difference in development time may be to
compress the settlement period to span less time than the oviposition period.
INTRODUCTION
The effects of temperature on development time have been de-
scribed for several species of opisthobranch molluscs (Chia 1973,
Dehnel and Kong 1979, Eyster 1986, Farfan and Ramirez 1988, Har-
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